US General speaks out:: must read!

[garybeck]

U.S. general in Iraq: Growing disconnect with Washington
By Pamela Hess
UPI Pentagon Correspondent
Published October 5, 2005


BAGHDAD -- "I don't know if I have the moral authority to send troops into combat anymore," a senior American general recently told United Press International.

He knows what his power means -- that on his word hundreds or thousands of young men would step into danger.

"I'm no longer sure I can look (a soldier or a Marine) in the eye and say: 'This is something worth dying for.'"

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20051005-022643-9419r

[lildreamer316]

1. Kick

[liberal N proud]

2. Keep this kicked up!

[electropop]

3. well, he's about to get fired

So I salute his courage. Thank you, General.

[yella_dawg]

4. ..

[Gloria]

5. KICK

[babylonsister]

6. K & R! nt

[Atman]

7. K&R

:kick:

[central scrutinizer]

8. Call General Shinseki

for more information on how well the Bush Crime Family takes criticism from the troops.

[mzmolly]

9. .

[SnoopDog]

10. Maybe this means that they will defend us if *goes more bizerk...

Our country is being systematically destroyed - maybe our generals are realizing that our government is simply looting the treasury, killing Americans, and destroying our Constitution.

We might need a few high ranking military officers on our side who have a conscience.

[kster]

11. kick.nt

[AntiFascist]

12. K & R nt

[SlipperySlope]

13. More passages from article

That is a great article:

... He doesn't mean Iraq. There are plenty of bad people here to fight, and plenty of innocents worth protecting ...

... "Everything that happens in Iraq is viewed in Washington through a prism of whether it is good for George W. Bush or bad," said a civilian U.S. official, who spoke to UPI on the condition he not be named ...

... To many here, that political reductionism is obscene. It degrades their daily work as much as it does the loss of more than 1,900 Americans ...

... The good in Iraq has been hard won -- it was never a given. And the bad in all its forms -- the car bombs, the ambushes, the rockets, the innocent dead -- is the predictable product of warfare ...


A good perspective on things, not often voiced.

[BamaBecky]

14. We need more of them to say this!...n/t

[garybeck]

15. kick

[SeanQ]

16. kick

:kick:

[Imagevision]

17. Just a matter of time before the Generals on the ground start resigning

under Bush/Rumsfeld command -- the CIA predicted a civil war in Iraq last July (2004)

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

18. I wish a few more...

...prominent personalities, especially in media would choose their soul over their job. When these two come into conflict most people choose job.

[Dora]

19. Kick this story all night long.

[OhNoTheyDidNot]

20. I love that this general said this now, but come on - 90% of the posters

here KNEW it wasn't a noble cause from the get go. Deep inside these people had to know it was NEVER a noble cause. Why do they pretend that they are just now 'realizing it'? They are trying to clear thier consciences or something - trying to play dumb.

[RaleighNCDUer]

28. In the military you don't worry about causes, you worry about

your mission.

If ordered on a mission, you don't concern yourself with 'why' you were so ordered, only with how to accomplish it (assuming it is not blatantly illegal to begin with).

Morale must be piss poor now for a general to be saying this. Or maybe, now that a fellow Marine is the head of the Joint Chiefs, he's thinking he might be listened to, which would not have happened under Myers.

I suspect that it's more difficult for an airman to relate on a gut level to the situation on the ground than it is for someone who's had had his boots in the mud and seen his comrades lying in that same mud.

Whatever the case, it takes guts to come out and say something like this.

[berni_mccoy]

21. MAJOR KICK!

[Amonester]

22. RRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGG (The Awaking) - K & R n/t

:kick:

[katinmn]

23. Compare that with Cheney's remarks yesterday:

no wonder those implementing the mission feel a disconnect with Washington.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/10/06/cheney_urges_patient_effort_in_terror_fight/

Cheney urges 'patient effort' in terror fight
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press | October 6, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney said yesterday that the United States must be prepared to fight the war on terrorism for decades to bring peace to Iraq and the rest of the Middle East.

''Like other great duties in history, it will require decades of patient effort, and it will be resisted by those whose only hope for power is through the spread of violence," Cheney said. ''As the people of that region experience new hope, progress, and control over their own destiny, we will see the power of freedom to change our world, and a terrible threat will be removed."

Cheney did not specify how long he thinks US troops will have to stay in Iraq. Some military commanders have expressed hope that substantial American troop withdrawals could begin next spring or summer, though they have edged away from such comments in recent days.

Speaking to the Association of the US Army, Cheney joined the chorus of Bush administration officials, including the president, who have tried in recent days to muster more support from an American public that has grown increasingly weary of the war in Iraq. He told the audience, filled with military members, that the only way terrorists would win is if the United States ''lost our nerve and abandoned our mission."

-more-

[DemoVet]

24. It's in a Moonie publication too.....interesting

Given this, I'm taking it with a grain of salt, but if this is what the field commanders think is going on back here:

"The debate about the war is finally happening, but it is two years too late," the U.S. official said.

"It's no bullshit on the ground here between us and the Iraqis. But back home it's still in f(ing) ideological political mode," he said. "We need to separate 'accountability' from 'success.'"

These officials now care far less who was right two-and-a-half years ago than they do about stabilizing Iraq and returning home with their troops in one piece.

To do that, Washington needs to get serious about winning, they say. The White House and its congressional supporters are so focused on "staying the course," and the opposition so intent on forcing the White House to admit its mistakes there seems to be no time for anything else.

Then we're fast approaching a point where our troops, who need to trust implicitly(along with their families) that their lives aren't being put in jeopardy for no good purpose, will lose their will to fight for us, and rightfully so. That was the legacy of Vietnam, and it took a generation before our military was over it, only to be misused by this Administration in a war based on lies. There needs to be something at the end of this that's better than a picture of a helicopter on a rooftop and a long wall of silent names, both for us and for the Iraqi people we've damaged so much. Democrats, we need a Manhattan-project level of effort to fix this, it is the issue now and for at least the next decade.

[leeroysphitz]

25. WOW... nt

[PunkPop]

26. Although this article is anti-Bush in places

the overall tone seems to be one of "stay the course".

It portrays American forces in Iraq as good and noble warriors who are being hamstrung by the political climate in Washington - implying that they are indeed there for some kind of "noble cause".

It also seems to be implying that anti-War only means anti-Bush.

This article and website seem to have an agenda that I don't think I agree with. They have a prominent link to the Washington Times right on their homepage which is a definite red flag for me.

[efhmc]

27. On now (1944 dead) he figures it out.

[Roland99]

29. This was on the homepage yesterday with this LBN thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1829168

[ClintonTyree]

35. I KNEW I'd seen this before.........

thanks for resurrecting it! :hi:

[Arugula Latte]

30. It's a Noble Cause, General. Just shut up and don't ask specifics.

Trust us, it's noble, noble, noble. Hoo boy, is it noble!

[I Have A Dream]

31. Kick

:kick:

[savemefromdumbya]

32. easier to hand it over to the UN

whatever happened to Afghanistan?

[MADem]

37. I'm with you!!

But then, our man in NYC, Psycho Kaptain Kangaroo, would have to do the jawboning to effectuate the transfer of responsibility...and they just don't like that boy much up there...not that I blame them!

[maxsolomon]

33. the opposition isn't out to make * admit their mistakes

we want the killing stopped.

if we knew what was going to happen, who would choose to start this war today?

oh i forgot, our chickenhawk president.

[yurbud]

34. creating a country of haves

The other striking thing here is military planners are saying "creating a country of haves" will prevent Iraq from becoming a haven of terrorists. Unfortunately, this is the exact opposite of the original plan of the Bushies which was to privatize 100% of the country's assets, and sell them for 100% foreign ownership. And like here, they are trying to break the back of labor unions.

The primary difference between us and Iraqis is we haven't figured out that they are trying to create a country of "have nots" right here and we aren't fighting back.

KEY EXCERPTS:
The only way to be sure Iraq does not become the threat it was posited to be before the war, a safe haven for terrorists, is to raise the standard of living and the expectations of the people, creating a country of "haves" who don't tolerate terrorists and thugs, and who have confidence their government and security force will back them up.

[FeloniousMonk]

43. A country of halves

"Creating a country of 'haves'" is completely antithetical to labor unions. "A country of 'haves'" would set out to break the backs of labor unions, which would be regarded more or less as terroristic. "A country of 'haves'" would be dominated by people like those of Bush's "base." Then, the "conservative" mindset that would take over would always suspect the general population of a tendency toward terrorism. The goal here is entirely in keeping with the goals the "conservatives" in this country have.

[progressivebydesign]

36. An acquaintance is a career military guy who does not want to go.

He is a veteran of Gulf war I, and has been to afghanistan, and is doing everything in his power to stay out of Iraq. He wants no part of it.. and he's a career guy, a high ranking one. He is not the only one I've heard say that. No one wants to go there, and now it seems that people do not want to send troops there.

I really wonder what the hell we're doing there. Bush thought this was going to be a slam dunk.. drop a few bombs, gather flowers, and move on. He doesnt' have a fucking clue what to do next.

[garybeck]

38. kick

[Mr Rabble]

39. kicked!

[Tesla]

40. KICK!!!!

[jazzjunkysue]

41. Hope he can sleep with his eyes open.

[Redstone]

42. How far off do you suppose a mutiny is?

I bet eighteen months, max. National Guard first, followed by RA.

Redstone

[Ouabache]

44. yep, what if they had a war, and nobody came?

what if there was an asshat in the whitehouse and everybody just stayed at home until he left.

[Qanisqineq]

45. kickety-kick

:kick:

[Independent_Liberal]

46. Kick!